Appreciations
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Memories are all I have Nandani Kumarawadu
Happy birthday to my beloved wife on your 72nd birthday. I wish I could come and visit you in heaven on your special day, March 12. I love you and miss you so much but I know that you will be smiling down at me from heaven.
The sky is dark, the moon is no more. You were like a shining light. I can’t believe that you have left me forever. I am holding back the tears and the sorrow in my heart retaining the fund of memories you left me.
I wish you the supreme bliss of Nirvana.
Sumanadasa Nambuhewa
She blessed her household with peace and joy
SUVENDRENI Y. WEERASEKERA
Suvendreni Weerasekera passed away on January 14, after a brief illness. Born in 1940, she was the daughter of Godwin and Ira Weerasekera.
She was proud and fond of her family from both her parents and maintained lasting close and affectionate relationships with uncles, aunts and cousins, nieces and nephews. She was especially fond of her maternal grandfather – Jumeaux Corea, known for his kindness and righteous ways.
Her education was at CMS Ladies’ College, except for the last two years at Kandy High School. She made lasting friends at both schools and was in touch with them until her demise. At Ladies’, she made a lifelong friend in Dr. Sriani Basnayake, who later became her bridesmaid. They maintained a close and abiding friendship to the end. Sadly, Dr Basanayake passed away a month after her.
She married Neville Weerasekera in 1961, and they had a son and daughter, Shyan and Shiona.
Her parents had a grand wedding ceremony for her, which was solemnized at “The Chapel of Hope of the World” Ladies’ College, the service conducted by the Bishop of Colombo, Rollo Graham Campbell. Her witness was Sir Oliver Goonetillake.
A well attended reception was held at the Galle
Face Hotel.
She accompanied her husband where-ever he went and was a fortress of strength to him. She faced good times gladly and difficult times with courage and equanimity.
In 1975, Neville accepted an appointment in Saudi Arabia which at the time was an unknown destination. The plan was for Neville to go first, and once settled down, to send for her. She would hear none of it and bravely accompanied him at the very first visit. At the time Saudi Arabia was a somewhat primitive place and development was slow but Suveni who was an extremely adaptable person made the best use of the resources available. They spent 14 years in Jeddah and Suveni was dominant factor in the success of their sojourn there. She attended the British Embassy Christian services and played the organ. She taught Arab and expat children and their mothers the piano, tutored English language and assisted in an expat children’s school.
Whilst there she
accompanied her husband on many of his official trips abroad which included to London, Washington, Athens, Milan and Tokyo. Travel and discovery of other countries and their history was a passion for her.
In 1990 they returned to Sri Lanka. Suveni soon re-engaged with her erstwhile friends, and above all, her parents and sisters. She maintained a close and loving contact with her sisters, Hiranthi and Indira.
She was invited to join the board of the St Andrew’s Elders Home in Buthgamuva, by Dr. Sriani Basnayake who was the Chairperson. One of her duties was to purchase and deliver the requirement of fish for meals, a task she personally supervised with meticulous attention to detail. She enjoyed being part of this team and with Sriani and the committee, did much to enliven the lives of residents at the home.
She also joined the Edirimanna Corea Family Union (ECFU) and was its treasurer until her death. She greatly helped in the development of the Corea genealogy chart, based on the pioneering work by Henry Corea. Suveni helped in digitizing the large scrolls, having an encyclopedic knowledge of Corea genealogy of recent times, and sat with Deva Corea for many sessions to clarify and fill gaps.
In 2011, she and her husband celebrated 50 years of married life and she arranged an appropriate celebration with family, relations and friends at the Kingsbury Hotel. It was her wish to also celebrate 60 years of married life in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic precluded it.
She was an avid reader but in her latter years her pre-occupation was crosswords. In her spare time, she would sit on her bed with a pile of dictionaries, trying to solve clues. She won many first prizes on the Daily News cryptic crossword, and had some fans with whom she generously shared solutions to clues and vice versa.
She was a devout practising Christian and never failed to help anyone in need. She regularly attended Sunday services at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour. She read the Bible regularly, and each night she read an excerpt from the Jabez prayer introduced to her by her sister Indira.
Nicola, Daniel and Nadine, her grandchildren, were a great delight to her and she felt blessed to see them grow up – she was very proud of them, always had time for them and supported them unconditionally. There was strictly no discipline from her! She welcomed Jacky, Shyan’s wife like a daughter. Shiona and Jacky cared for her in her last illness with tender loving care.
She passed away on January 14, just 63 years married on Jan 12. A private funeral on the 15th at Kanatte, was well attended by many relations and friends. Everyone who had met her will remember her charming and endearing smile, friendliness and kindness.
The German philosopher Goethe said: Be he a King or peasant, the happiest is he who has peace at home. Suveni blessed her household with an abundance of peace and joy. She will be missed greatly by family and friends.
May her soul rest in peace.
Neville S. Weerasekera
A remarkable scholar and gentleman
Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne
I was shocked when I heard of the sudden demise of Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne, a wonderful academic of the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya. I could not attend his funeral as I was not aware of his passing.
When I was an undergraduate of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Peradeniya, Prof. Seneviratne was a Professor in Archeology. I had enrolled for an honours degree in sociology, so was never taught by him at the undergraduate level but we attended his special and guest lectures occasionally at the faculty seminar room or Senate room.
I had the opportunity of a closer association with Prof. Seneviratne when I assumed duties as the Senior Assistant Registrar of the Faculty of Arts. He always encouraged me to overcome the issues pertaining to the Faculty of Arts, when I sought his advice. Once he told me, “Abey, you are a product of this faculty. So you have a big responsibility in order to improve the faculty activities.” He always appreciated my work.
When I joined the Senate as Deputy Registrar (Academic Establishment), Prof. Senevirathne met me regularly for official issues. He often participated in foreign conferences and workshops in the field of archaeology. On his return from his travels, he would come by my office with two bags of sweets, one for my two sons and the other for the staff. This reflected his generosity, courtesy and human qualities.
He hailed from an educated family in Colombo. While a student at Ananda College, he had been involved in various sports which showed his versatile personality. He was also Director General of the Department of Archaeology.
Prof. Seneviratne was appointed High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India and Bangladesh and was able to build a good rapport between India and Sri Lanka during a short period.
I met him for the last time at the Rajarata University before he assumed duties as the High Commissioner in Bangladesh. He was the Chief Guest of the Archaeology Symposium organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. I am proud to say that Prof. Seneviratne’s students are playing key roles in the field of archaeology at the University including Prof. Thusitha Mendis who is the Dean of the Faculty at present.
His way of speaking and writing English and his way of teaching undergraduates and postgraduates were all very impressive. He was a remarkable academic and scholar in the field of archaeology. More than everything else, a gentleman.
Sir, may you attain supreme bliss of Nibbana!
A.M.G.B. Abeysinghe
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